I am thrilled to welcome you to the Department of Global Health and Health Systems Design, a first of its kind department in the nation to both include the work of designing our own health care system with executive and hospital leadership here in New York City and at the same time be working to improve health care systems abroad and driving an exchange between the two.
Founded in May of 2016, the Department of Global Health and Health Systems Design is located on the 5th floor of the New York Academy of Medicine, a leader in urban health initiatives across the world. Although we are working to build our global presence, the Department will remain an integral part of the East Harlem community by actively working on core flagship projects.
Currently, however, America’s health care sector is performing poorly. Since many Americans have experienced poor health and healthcare, the Department helps partner with thought leaders, doers and engaged citizens and consumers who seek to radically redesign how health care is developed and implemented. It should come as no surprise that a world of 8 billion people yields insights, solutions and breakthroughs that can transform care in America, while we contribute our piece of the puzzle to our colleagues abroad.
The Department can only succeed with a strong foundation, of course. Therefore, we use data science and product design to advance our studies along with innovative systems engineering and clinical redesign coupled with a solid financial model and policy to make our goals a reality.
We are at a moment when we have to question everything. There’s a quote that says, “Every system is perfectly designed to achieve results that it gets.” And if we know that the result that we get today is low performing care, disconnected from the places where we live and work, it means that every single aspect of how we are designing our systems needs to be questioned: our academic medical center will be the forefront of being a constructive, creative, and collaborative voice in the next generation of care.
Now, more than ever, we must focus research and development efforts on how to deliver high performing, locally connected care. Across the world, we usually know what to do and why we should do it, but now we need to focus on the execution and how to build high performing, low cost systems for all people across the world.